Shocking Loan Officer Behavior – Caught On Tape!!!
By- Ok, so no video recordings here… The tone of the post just reminded me of one of those “Caught On TAPE!” Series…
Blooper time people! Usually my posts are very serious in tone, and <gasp!> educational in nature. Looking for a light-hearted post today, so I began thinking back to some of my early days as a loan officer, and some of the more laughable (At least now they are) mistakes I made.
But fair is fair, so if I’m going to serve up some stories, I want you to share as well. Ok, now that we’ve agreed, here’s my worst of the worst story:
One of the most difficult transitions for me as a new loan officer was dealing with those clients who would never send in their stips, but yet would call multiple times per day demanding you “hurry up!”
So I had this client who became quite hostile when I told her the loan was not ready, as she still had not delivered proof of income, bank statements, etc. She called and left me a really nasty voicemail. Another loan officer was in the office with me as I listened to her angry message.
I decided it was best I call her back to diffuse the situation. I left her a voicemail once again reminding her that the loan would not make progress until she delivered the documents I had asked for multiple times now. I set down the phone on the carriage after I finished leaving my message, and proceeded to complain to the loan officer in my office.
He inquired about the situation, and I explained how ridiculous this woman was, and made some cracks about “She probably doesn’t want to give me her bank statements because she must not have the money she told me she does to qualify!”
The words and the back story had barely left my mouth when I realized in horror that there was another voice in the room… “What the?” I looked around for the disembodied voice but could not find it! Where is this sound coming from? My eyes finally settled on my phone!
In my frustration with the customer, I apparently set the phone down too quickly and the phone was not resting on the carriage properly – meaning that I never hung up! I reached down to snatch the phone up hoping the voicemail system would give me an option to cancel and re-record my message!
The pay-off for my speedy phone grab? “Thank You – Goodbye!” AHHHHHHHHHH! I was too late. The already angry and unreasonable customer was sure to blow her top! But what could I do? You know that sinking feeling you get in your stomach that comes with the realization of impending doom? That’s what I enjoyed for the next few hours waiting for the inevitable tongue lashing that was sure to come with every ring of my phone.
So what happened? I never heard back from her. I often wondered if it was because she found my comments insulting, or if she realized from my message that I was not going to approve her loan without proper proof of income and funds in the bank.
Either way, I learned an important lesson that day. But not the one you might expect. I learned to always manually press the button on the phone with your finger and listen for the dial tone before venting in frustration about a customer…Or a family member…Or anyone for that matter! (No high-horse soap box preaching today folks! We all have to vent sometime! It’s how we stay sane when things get tense)
So how about you? Any interesting stories to tell from the trenches? If this post gets enough interesting responses, I just might be able to be persuaded to share my story about the borrower who brought her father with her to the closing table… After he passed away! (Yea, think about what that one means for a moment!) Now share!
